Separable button



May 15, 192 I 1,454,857

E. A. PHINNEY sEARABLE BUTTON Filed Sept. 16, 1921 ll. l0

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W1 TAESSES I N V EN TOR.

w" A TTORNE Y.

Patented May '15, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SEPARABLE BUTTON.

Application filed September 16, 1921. Serial No. 501,175.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELISHA A. PHINNEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pawtucket, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Separable Buttons, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to improvements 1n separable buttons and the purpose of my invention is to provide a button conslsting substantially of two portions, a front and a back portion, which are normally held securely together by my invention, but WhlCh may be readily separated when desired.

I accomplish this purpose by the device shown in the accompanying drawing, in

which- Figure 1 is a vertical section through the entire button, which comprises, asshown, a front and a back member.

Figure 2 is a vertical view of the locking member or ball cage, and

Figure 3 a top or plan view of the same looked at from above.

The various parts are indicated by the same numerals throughout the several figures.

In Figure 1, 1 is the front of the button,

composed of metal or other suitable material ornamented as desired and having projecting therefrom the stem 2, pointed at its end as shown. The body or rear portion of the button is composed of a flat plate 3 and the cylindrical or cup-shaped flanged member 5, the two being secured together by the rolling over of the edge of 3 upon the projecting flange of 5.. W1thin the space formed by the union of the members 3-5, is the member 4, which is secured within 3-5 by the rolling over of thermargin of 3, as above described. The member 4 has for its center thehollow tapering chamber 13, circular incross-section, the smaller portion of the chamber being adjacent to the cap 3.

8-8 in Figure 1 are balls, preferably ofmetal, retained as hereinafter described, in the ball cage 9-10. I

77 is a spiral sprmg enclosed within the chamber 13 and surrounding the shank 10 of the ball cage and acting to force the ball cage inward toward the smaller end of the chamber 13. The ball cage 9-10 is shown in detail in Figure 2. It consists of a body portion 9, a shank 10, and a flange 6. It is also perforated longitudinally by a tubular Figure 3 is aplan view of the ball cage, 2 I.

being a cross-section ofthe stem 2 of the button front 1-2, the balls 88 being shown as slightly projecting from the transverse perforations 11-11 and bearing upon or against the stem 2. The tubular space 12 in the ball cage is suf'n'cient to admit slight play of the stem 2 of the button front.

The flange 6, when the button is assembled, is separated from the bottom of the button body 5 by a space suflicient to admit the insertion of the'thumb or finger nail.

The sharp end of the stem 22 of the button front allows the button to be attached to any cloth garment by perforation of the same without the necessity of a button-hole,

the front member being on one side of the fabric and the back member on the other side thereof.

The action of the assembled button is as followsze The body 4 and the ball cage 910 with the balls 88 in place therein, together with the spring 77, are inserted in the body of the. button before the cap 3 is rolled over upon the edge of the body 5. By the operation of the spring 77, the ball cage 9-10 is firmly pressed upward into the conical space 13 and the balls 88 brought in close proximity to each other. The stem of the pin 2-2 may then be inserted in the space 12 and as it presses downward upon. the balls it compresses the spring 77 slightly by forcing the cage 9 10 downward, thus releasing the balls and permitting the easy entrance of the stem 22, between the same. When the stem is in place, the spring 77 forcing the ball cage upward, causes the balls 88 to engage the stem of the pin by virtue of the tapering surrounding surface of the space 13, thus securely binding the stem 22, and any effort to separate or remove the front 1 will only force the balls more tightly against the stem.

-When it is desired to separate the front, it is easily accomplished by inserting the thumb nail into the space between the flange 6 and the bottom of the button body 5, thus compressing the spring 747 and releasing the stem 22.

Having now described my invention, what .I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 4 The combination with a button and a pointed centrally positioned stem fixed thereon, of a cup-shaped memberhaving a centrally positioned aperture at its closed end and annular flanges projecting radially from its open end, a'body member positioned within'said cup shaped member and having a central, vertically disposed tapered bore therethrough with its smaller end associated with the open end of the cup-shaped member, the outer wall of the body member being tapered in an opposite direction to its bore, a centrally apertured top plate resting upon the upper surface of said body member and having its edges rolled over to engage the flange of the cup-shaped member, .a centrally, longitudinally bored ball cage positioned within the tapered bore'of the body member and having a tapered peripheral surface, a longitudinally bored shank formed with said ball cage and projecting through the aperture formed in said cup-shaped member, a flange formed on the projecting end of said shank, a spring encircling said shank between said-ball cage and the apertured end of said cup-shaped member for urging the ball cage towards the smaller end of the said body member, and

balls carried by said cage for engaging the tapered Wall of 'saidbody member and said stem when the latter is inserted through the cage for releasably connecting the two.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses. A

- ELISHA A. PHINNEY. Witnesses:

THoMAs E. POLLARD, LEWIS S. DARLING. 

